oiktoz

oiktoz is a culture and arts initiative that set out with the motto Plenty of Culture, Lots of Art.

What began in 2018 as a social media page sharing literature has grown into a vibrant, growing community with a website, an art club, a magazine, a newsletter, an academy and many oiktozians. It publishes in two languages, Turkish and English.

One day, one of the founders watched the film “oiktos” and was deeply moved by it. The film tells the story of a man who takes pleasure in being pitied and keeps doing pitiable things so that the pleasure never ends. Wondering who else might share those same feelings, the founder let out a sigh. The same idea also ran through the books they were reading and the plays they were seeing. When they eagerly told the other founder about the film, the reply came in the form of quotes from a book the other founder had read. This conversation, where cinema met literature, is what gave rise to oiktoz.

The pair changed one letter of oiktos and gave it a new meaning.

Today, oiktoz is a collective that tells the stories of people who take pleasure in engaging with culture and the arts, and who create in this field so that the pleasure never ends.

So come along, and let’s hear new stories and tell new ones together…